Favorite garden tool/best gift for gardeners

Hi all,
I would like to generate a list from folks of their
favorite/indespensible garden tools and/or their favorite gift to give
or receive related to gardening (other than plants :).
My favorite tool is also the best gift I have both received and given to
others: the cape cod weeder. Every time I use my cape cod weeder I
sing its praises! That little tool makes yanking up crab grass and
other weeds so much easier!
Happy gardening!
Heidi

Well, phoo. There was a long thread on this subject last year, but I
can't locate it.
I believe my suggestion was unglamorous consumables tailored to the
needs of the specific gardener. A friend came by and dropped of
several bags of almost-full potting soils of various types, and I was
delirious with joy. I have enough pots to supply a good-size
greenhouse, but am always deficient in saucers (of any size). I've
been given a million (well, a dozen pair) of gardening gloves which I
never use. After a number of years, I have nearly all the tools I've
tound successful, and don't need new ones. But if I found a 50lb sack
of compost or manure on my porch, I'd be delighted. If I were know for
canning/preserving, and particularly if I gave away a lot of my garden
produce, I'm sure I'd like jars and lids/seals.
Oh, and labor. If you *really* want to please a gardener, offer to
dig, prune, weed, mow, help build a fence or a trellis, or carry
things in or out in your pickup.
As you note, giving plants may be like giving puppies or kittens. If
the gardener has been yearning after something specific, that thing
would be a great gift. If anyone gave me another African Violet, I
swear I'd shoot him/her.
Like all really good gifts, the trick is to know what the person
needs/wants/would be delighted with. If you *know* they order plants,
seeds, or equipment from a specific outlet, a gift certificate would
probably be welcome.
The absolutely *worst* gift is some cute, expensive "gift basket."

[...]
I gave 50 lb. boxes of composted cow manure and a dozen bearded iris
rhizomes to all of my Taurus girlfriends for birthday presents this year.
They were *all* delighted with the cow compost, but whined about not
having time to plant the iris. Go figure...
Jan

I suppose I'll have to move to AK to get on your list. :-) My next
door neighbor is still rooting and potting mini-roses for office
co-workers who request plants and then complain that they died a year
or 2 later. "...those serpents! There's no pleasing them."

I have to assume two things before I reply.
1. This is not SPAM since this tool is available almost everywhere.
2. You mean hand tool, not power tool.
So, here goes.
The new ratcheting pruners. You can cut an 1 1/2 - 2" branch with a minimum of
effort.
The hose extenders, a garden hose holder that also has a spigot on it. You can
run a hose from the house spigot to this, leave the house spigot turned on, and
attach another hose to the second spigot and use the turn on/off on there. The
usefulness of this increases with the problem of getting to the main spigot.

My favorite tool is not usually considered a garden tool. It is a masonry
pointed trowel. They come in three sizes. I like the one that has a blade
about 3.5" long. After sharpening, you will find no tool more precise and
easy to work with for "down on your knees" weeding. Use it for below the
surface root cutter. Not as a pry tool. You'll love it.

When I moved in to my first house, a friend gave me a "gift bucket" with a
dandelion weeder (not sure of the technical name), trowel, pruning shears,
gloves, and a knee pad in a galvanized bucket. That was the best gift and
I've used them constantly. I was also pleased that the former owners left
behind a shovel, hedge trimmers (manual), and a bag of potting soil, all of
which I have also used and been thankful for.
What I'd love to have for my yard is the cape cod weeder you mentioned. :-)
I have a yard full of crab grass and I need to get it under control. I'd
also like to steal a friend's power tool - interchangable string trimmer,
edger, and blower attachments.
Garden wise I'd like to find a friend to help me put together a compost bin.

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